technabob » lacie http://technabob.com/blog gadgets, gizmos, games, cool gadgets, geeky gadgets Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:53:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 lacie usb keys open up a world of frustration http://technabob.com/blog/2009/03/14/lacie-usb-keys-open-up-a-world-of-frustration/ http://technabob.com/blog/2009/03/14/lacie-usb-keys-open-up-a-world-of-frustration/#comments Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:52:02 +0000 lambert v. http://technabob.com/blog/?p=10377 LaCie have made it their mission to come up with creative and entertaining products that allow customers to unintentionally destroy or misplace their data as easily as possible. After releasing their coin-shaped CurrenKey flash-drives, LaCie now present to us flash drives that look like keys. Prepare to lose data in the name of industrial design.

lacie-keys

The iamaKey is the tough cooKey in the bunch. It’s water- and scratch-resistant, and its protective edges ensure that you’ll never insert the drive with the wrong side up, but it won’t prevent you from attempting to do so anyway. It will also not prevent you from trying to start your car with it after a beer or six.

iamakey

The iamaKey comes in 4Gb and 8Gb versions. The 4Gb costs $18 USD while the 8Gb costs $28 USD. If iamaKey is a flash drive for the toughies, there’s itsaKey, a flash drive for trendy people. itsaKey is weirdly shaped, and it offers less protection compared to iamaKey. Trendy indeed.

itsakey

It’s not exactly fragile because it’s coated with nickel, but there’s no mention of water- or scratch-resistance on its product page. The upside is that itsaKey is cheaper. The 4Gb version costs $15 USD and the 8Gb costs $24 USD. Rounding out the product line is PassKey, a useful little fella that eats your microSD cards, essentially turning them into USB drives.

passkey-and-microsd

In other words, PassKey is a microSD card reader, not a flash disk. It has no data capacity of its own. But if you have a bunch of old microSD cards then you only have to shell out $10 USD for the PassKey. Transfer speeds will obviously be slower on the PassKey: it only goes up to 40Mbits/s compared to 480Mbits/s max on the iamaKey and itsaKey.

You can buy all three at LaCie’s shop; I’ve linked the product names to their corresponding product pages. I see a LaCie imaPieceofTrashKey in the future.

[via GetUSB]

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2009/03/14/lacie-usb-keys-open-up-a-world-of-frustration/feed/ 2 lacie 5big network drive looks like hal 9000’s brother http://technabob.com/blog/2008/10/12/lacie-5-network-drive-hal-9000/ http://technabob.com/blog/2008/10/12/lacie-5-network-drive-hal-9000/#comments Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:00:37 +0000 technabob http://technabob.com/blog/?p=4773 2001: A Space Odyssey. The new LaCie 5big Network storage array is designed for small and medium workgroups looking for a…]]> Designer Neil Poulton got the inspiration for the domed glowing light on the outside of his latest hard drive design from the red light on the face of HAL 9000, the infamous computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The new LaCie 5big Network storage array is designed for small and medium workgroups looking for a ton of storage at a reasonable price. Heck, I bet it has WAY more memory than HAL 9000 had. The 5big sports five hot-swappable Serial ATA drive bays which can accomodate as much as 7.5 terabytes of disk.

The drives can be configured in a number of array modes, including RAID 5, RAID 5+Spare, RAID 6, RAID 10 and RAID 0. The 5big can be attached to your network via a zippy Gigabit Ethernet port, and additional external drives can be connected via USB 2.0 or SATA ports.

The array also offers built-in Active Directory support, so you can easily add it as a Windows file server for your office. And if you’re not a Windows fan It’ll work with Mac and Linux systems too.

The 5big comes in three sizes: 2.5TB ($899), 5.0TB ($1399), and 7.5TB ($1899), and can be found over on the LaCie website.

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2008/10/12/lacie-5-network-drive-hal-9000/feed/ 1 lacie golden disk: it’s getting gold outside http://technabob.com/blog/2007/09/11/lacie-golden-disk-its-getting-gold-outside/ http://technabob.com/blog/2007/09/11/lacie-golden-disk-its-getting-gold-outside/#comments Tue, 11 Sep 2007 22:37:08 +0000 technabob http://technabob.com/blog/2007/09/11/lacie-golden-disk-its-getting-gold-outside/ LaCie Golden Disk by Ora-ItoAh, Gold. Computer peripheral maker LaCie has really stepped up their game lately, working with world-renowned artists like Karim Rashid and Neil Poulton to help create some truly stunning accessories. Now they’ve enlisted the help of Ora-Ïto to come up with their latest creation, the Golden Disk.

Looking like a soft pillow of molten gold, the shiny hard drive enclosure is sure to draw stares the minute you place it on your desktop. LaCie is proving that accessories are no longer something you have to hide in under your desk.

The Lacie Golden Disk will retail starting at $189 for a 500GB USB-connected model. They expect to start shipping in late October.

If Donald Trump doesn’t outfit his offices with these, I’ll be very surprised.

[Press Release]

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2007/09/11/lacie-golden-disk-its-getting-gold-outside/feed/ 1 the lacie huby: what the heck is that thing on your desk? http://technabob.com/blog/2006/12/02/the-lacie-huby-what-the-heck-is-that-thing-on-your-desk/ http://technabob.com/blog/2006/12/02/the-lacie-huby-what-the-heck-is-that-thing-on-your-desk/#comments Sat, 02 Dec 2006 14:03:56 +0000 technabob http://technabob.com/blog/2006/12/02/the-lacie-huby-what-the-heck-is-that-thing-on-your-desk/ This is quite possibly the strangest looking apparatus that I’ve seen in quite some time.

LaCie Huby USB Firewire Hub

The LaCie Huby is a truly odd looking USB and Firewire hub that emphasizes the cables on your desktop, rather than hiding them away. The bulb-shaped device provides you with an additional 4 USB ports and 2 Firewire ports at the end of its LED illuminated cables. The Huby also has USB-powered light and fan attachments in its arsenal of gadgets.

For those of you who find this kind of design appealing rather than appalling, you can pick one up at the end of December for $79.99 USD.

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